


Drawn by the Darkest Bay

by HiddenBookShelf



Category: Epic Mickey (Video Games), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Dark Sora (Kingdom Hearts), F/M, Gen, Keyblade Wielders (Kingdom Hearts), Kingdom Hearts AU, Organization XIII (Kingdom Hearts), Oswald Doesn't Want to Be Forgotten
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenBookShelf/pseuds/HiddenBookShelf
Summary: Oswald the Rabbit had always been kept in Darkness, forced to watch his counterpart, King Mickey, thrive and flourish in the Light. But when a Keybearer is found in the form of a spunky brunet, Oswald sees his opportunity to finally take his place in the Light.Or to plunge everyone into Darkness.
Relationships: Axel & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse & Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	1. The Pit of Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This story takes heavy inspiration from the game Epic Mickey, and if you don't know who Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is, then please do yourself a favor and go look him up. It's an interesting bit of Disney and Animation history! 
> 
> Anyway, I present you with my very first Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction! I sincerely hope you enjoy!

> Chapter One: The Pit of Silence

_Is any of this for real…?_

The shadows overwhelmed him, threatening to pull him under and drown him in their inky depths. He thrashed against the pull. Opened his mouth to scream, only to have the darkness flood into his mouth. The metallic taste of ink choked him, and he couldn’t get out a single breath before the darkness invaded every orifice, every pore, swallowing him whole.

Just as the darkness ebbed in his mind, a hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him free of the all-consuming ink. The hand was not gentle. He was discarded on the dark ground where he lay, coughing and gasping for air. A newly minted creature.

When at last he had air in his lungs again, he took note of his savior. A black-cloaked figure stood in front of him. Though he could not see the figure’s expression, there was an air of disappointment surrounding them.

“Let’s go,” the figure said, turning on his heels and walking further into the darkness. He watched the figure before turning his head in a different direction. A light shimmered in the distance. His ears flattened on his head. Should he go there instead? He stood, but before he could step towards the light, the hand grabbed him again, yanking him forcefully away from the glow. “We don’t belong there,” the cloaked person snapped, holding his arm too tightly for comfort. “We were born in Darkness and there we were meant to live, and to die.” His arm was released, and the cloak receded further into the dark.

He took one last look at the shimmering hope before shaking his head and following the cloak into darkness.

_…or not?_

* * *

Sora opening his eyes with a gasp, sitting up from where he lay on the cold cobblestone path. The street was deserted, and the only sound was the soft _pitter-patter_ of a light drizzle hitting the road and puddles. “Riku? Kairi?” he called. The only response was the echo of his own voice returning to his ears. He pitched forward as a wave of nausea struck him, threatening to pull him back under the surface of consciousness. Disoriented, he held his head in his hand, taking a few shaking breaths before pushing down the need to vomit.

He stood slowly as not to relive the feeling of needing to throw up. Orientation was gradually coming back to him and within a few minutes, the memories of what had happened became clear. Or, what he _thought_ happened. A door. Creatures made of darkness surrounding them. Their home being swallowed by the void.

A key.

It had seemed like a nightmare while it was happening, and he still couldn’t fully understand what he had witnessed. But it had to be true. He didn’t recognize this place. There was no sweet and salty smell of the ocean breeze that had been present for his entire life. Instead, there was a stale stench of stone. Gone was the feeling of sand beneath his feet, replaced by unrelenting asphalt.

He sighed. There was no use dwelling on what couldn’t be changed. A few things had to be handled before thinking about what had happened to his home. The first, and most pressing, was finding out where he had ended up. A close second was what had happened to Riku and Kairi, and the rest of the people back on the islands. Surely, if he had ended up in this place, the others couldn’t be very far from here. The last; what were those creatures that had attacked?

The third item on his list forcefully became the first as dark blots appeared around him, swarming him. The same creatures from his island rose from the patches of darkness. Their perfectly round yellow eyes stared at him and he found that they would almost be cute if it weren’t for the strange, puppet-like movements that made them jerk their heads and limbs in all directions.

He jerked his head around to either side, finding the little monsters all around him. As he swept the area, he noticed a hooded figure sitting on the ledge of a clock tower, swinging their legs in a very child-like manner. The figure made no move to stand and before Sora could shout out at the person in the cloak, the shadow creatures lunged at him. Sora held out his hands instinctively, like he was holding onto the wooden sword that he and Riku used to spar each other with.

A flash of light came and as he swung, he found that in his hands was not the toy that he had been wishing for. In its place was a blade in the shape of an old-style skeleton key. The shadow creatures recoiled for just a moment before they came again. He swung at the creatures, sending each one back in turn with a plume of darkness.

When he managed to strike the last one, he was left panting as the darkness settled in around him. He looked up at his cloaked audience and found that the figure was now standing on the ledge, clapping slowly. As the last clap found his ears, the shadow beasts rose again; triple in number and covering every inch of the plaza.

Sora lunged into the fray, swinging the blade madly. But, for every one that he destroyed, two took their place. Before long, his arms felt like lead and the Keyblade increased in weight the more he swung it around. With a shout, he whipped the Keyblade around, clearing the immediate area.

He doubled over, gasping heavily for air. The cloaked figure still made no move to come down. He didn’t have time to call out for help before the next wave was upon him. Before they could get too close, lightening shot in front of him, dispersing his attackers. Suddenly he was joined in the fray by two new combatants; a tall, two-legged dog-like man and a duck.

 _I guess this day couldn’t get any weirder,_ he thought as the other two managed to fend off the remaining creatures. He looked up to where the cloak had been but there was no one watching anymore.

Sora stood up straight and dismissed the weapon, eying the two who had saved him warmly. Sure, one was a dog and the other a duck, but he had been fully prepared to meet strange and unique beings. “Thanks,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a soft laugh.

“Aw, you probably would have had it handled,” the dog said, smiling.

Sora wasn’t sure how true that statement was, but he took the compliment in stride, offering a wide smile.

The duck, however, didn’t seem to share his restraint. “I was swarmed by those Heartless!”

The strange tone and voice that came out of the duck took Sora aback for a moment; just long enough to him to ponder the last word. “Is that what those things are?” he asked. “Heartless?”

“Ye-up!” the dog said. “Nasty little things.”

Sora looked back up where the figure had been, narrowing his eyes slightly at the empty spot. Was it possible that these two were involved with the hooded figure? It was possible. But if it were true, why had they helped, and the other had not? He turned his attention back to the dog and the duck. “Name’s Sora, by the way.”

The duck pointed to himself. “I’m Donald.” He pointed to the dog, “and that’s Goofy.”

Sora smiled. “A pleasure to meet you.” His smile turned into a worried frown within moments. “Oh! Have you seen a boy with white hair and a girl wandering around here?”

Donald and Goofy looked at one another and seemed to share a moment of consideration before they both turned back to Sora and shook their heads. “Sorry,” Goofy said. “You’re the first we’ve seen.”

Sora crossed his arms. That only left one more thing on his list. “Where exactly is _here_?”

Goofy gestured around them. "This here is Traverse Town," he said. He then pointed to Sora. "It's a place for people like you."  
  
Sora put his hand over his chest, blinking. “Like me?” he asked.  
  
Donald nodded vigorously. "Yeah, people who are lost or displaced by the Darkness."  
  
Those words had little meaning to Sora, but he figured all would be explained in time. There was no point in getting too lost in the details as of yet. Certain other things had to be established first. He crossed his arms and tapped his toes in thought. "So, my islands? That's what happened to it?"  
  
"Probably," Donald said with a nod.  
  
"But," Goofy interjected, "that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about." He pointed to Sora's hand. "You've got the Keyblade!"  
  
Sora lifted his empty hand, opening and closing his fist. "The what?" He gasped as the weapon appeared in his hand with a gust of wind and light. He gripped the hilt tightly. "This thing? What is it?"  
  
"That's the Keyblade!" Donald said. "And it chose you."  
  
He dismissed the weapon. Chosen? He didn't know what to say to that. He clenched his empty fist, shaking his head. "And…?"  
  
"And we need your help," Goofy said. "You see, our king is missing, and to help him, we were told to find the Keybearer”

Sora looked between the two as they looked back at him expectantly. "And I'm it?" he asked.  
  
They both nodded.  
  
Sora rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Find a missing king wasn't on his list of things to do, but maybe that was okay. Finding the King might help him answer the other questions he had about what was going on. "A king, huh?" He smiled. "I think we can help each other, then!"  
  
The trio nodded, and they headed out towards the town center. Sora paused once more and looked back at where the cloak had been. Having already found two people more than willing to help should have filled him up with joy, but a chill went down his spine as he stared up at where the person had been.

"Sora! Ya coming?"  
  
"Yeah!" he called and jogged after his newfound teammates, trying to push down the feeling of dread in his stomach.

* * *

  
The hooded figure stepped out of a dark portal to another rooftop overlooking the small plaza where the battle had taken place. He leaned against the railing, observing the Keybearer interact with the king's lackies. It was a sickeningly sweet sight. The birth of a new friendship. He wanted to scoff at the scene below, but he didn’t waste the effort on it.  
  
His attention was taken off the interaction when another portal opened behind him and a woman with greenish skin and a tattered black dress stepped out onto the roof and came up behind him. He didn’t bother greeting her, instead electing to point down to the plaza silently.  
  
She leaned forward and watched for a moment before shaking her head with a malicious snicker. "That's him? I honestly expected more of the great bearer of the Keyblade."  
  
He shrugged. He may not be much, but he had been chosen and he had what they needed.  
  
"I must admit that I didn't expect this much from you."  
  
He lifted a lip in a silent snarl.  
  
"But you have done well."  
  
His black gloved hands gripped the railing, trembling. But he remained silent and gave no outward indication of his indignation.  
  
The woman walked to stand by him as the trio exited the area. "Now, where do we begin?"

He pushed off the railing and turned to face her with a smile that he knew she couldn't see beneath the shadow of his hood. They would begin by finding those closest to the Keybearer, and then they would work their way up from there.  
  
He walked past her towards the portal of darkness that awaited him. If he had been born in darkness, and destined to remain there, then the rest of the worlds should join him in his endless night


	2. Bloodlines

> Chapter Two: Bloodlines

Sora stood leaning against the railing of the balcony overlooking the plaza where the battle had taken place. The night was slowly turning into day, but he hadn’t been able to sleep like Donald and Goofy had. According to the others, they needed to take a day to rest before getting things going. He was a bit more eager than they seemed to be to get this ball rolling, but he hadn’t caused much of a stink about it. They knew what was going on better than he did, after all.

In the silence, he tried to wrap his head around what they had told him about the Heartless and what had happened to his world. And what would have to happen now. They had tried to explain everything in a way that didn’t overwhelm him, and they had succeeded okay. He sighed. It was all a bit too much to take in at once. As long as everyone who was missing got found, then the details of what was going on didn’t really matter. Didn’t it?

When he turned to leave the balcony to try and get some rest before they had to leave, he froze as a black and purple portal appeared in front of the door leading inside. The short, hooded figure from earlier stepped out of the darkness. The portal sank back out of existence.

Sora took a few steps back until his back hit the stone railing behind him and he couldn’t move any further.

“I see that I have made a poor first impression,” the figure said, waving a black-gloved hand dismissively.

Sora scoffed softly. “Poor” was being generous. “You watched me fight without offering to help,” he accused.

“I wanted to see how you’d do. You seemed to have had it handled.”

Sora wasn’t sure how much that was true, but he kept the self-doubt out of the conversation.

“If you had truly needed my help, I would have assisted.”

Sora narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the cloaked figure. “Who are you?” he asked without expecting an answer.

To his surprise, the person reached up and removed the hood from his head. With the fabric, two long rabbit ears fell from his head. Black fur surrounded a white face with dark eyes. The rabbit bowed his head in an exaggerated motion of respect. “Oswald the Rabbit, Keybearer,” he introduced before offering his hand to Sora. He looked down at the hand and stepped forward until he could grab it in a mutual sign of greeting. Oswald smiled and shook his hand a little too tightly before withdrawing. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Sora blinked. “Finally?”

Oswald nodded and took a step back. “It’s just nice to know who the Blade has chosen.” Before Sora could utter some sort of response, Oswald continued. “A lot of people are eager to meet you.” He looked back at the hotel room and lowered his voice before speaking again. “Some more eager than others. Those people you’re with aren’t who you think they are. They may be looking for their King, but they don’t need a Keybearer to find him.”

Sora crossed his arms. “What does that mean?”

“It means that they need you for something else.” Oswald held out his hands like he was holding a small orb. “You see, you’ve just been thrown in the middle a war that you don’t fully understand, and they probably have no intention of explaining it to you.” He stepped forward, eying Sora with a critical glare. “They need a Keybearer because only a Keyblade can turn the tide in the war against the Heartless. They don’t give a damn about you personally. You’re just the poor sap who got stuck with the Keyblade that they can manipulate into helping their _worthy_ cause.” Oswald walked past Sora and jumped onto the railing, dangling his feet.

“They said they’d help me find my friends.”

Oswald shrugged. “And I’m sure they will; after you win their war for them. Not a moment before. They’ll string you along and swear that you’re getting closer to finding the people you care about, but it’ll always be one more mission, one more world. You’ll almost be there more times than you’ll be able to count, and when the fighting’s done, then they’ll help you with your own quest.”

Sora frowned. He didn’t know Goofy or Donald well enough to defend them against these harsh accusations, but he also didn’t know the rabbit enough to take what he was saying at face value. “They saved my life, which is more than what I can say for you.”

“They saved a Keybearer,” Oswald said, holding his hand up like a schoolteacher scolding a child for misspelling a word. “That’s all you are to them, a means to an end. They would have let you die if you didn’t have the one thing they needed.”

Sora opened his mouth to speak but shut it again. He still wasn’t sure what to make of this rabbit. He didn’t know if Oswald was talking sense or speaking lies. “I just want to find my friends and go home to my family.”

“If that’s all you want, then come with me,” he said with a smirk. “I assure you that I will take you to your friends and I will help you return to your home and your family.” He held out a hand. Sora hesitated. “You’re just a tool to them. If you didn’t have that blade, they would have walked away from that fight and left you to your fate. They don’t care about you, and they’ll abandon you the moment you are of no more use to them.”

“And what do you want?” Sora asked. He wasn’t so sure about any of this. Even if the others were as nefarious as Oswald was saying, there was no proof that Oswald didn’t have a similar goal. If the blade was as powerful as he claimed it to be, then what was to say that he didn’t want that power for himself?

Oswald’s smirked turned slightly sour at the question. “I’m so glad you asked,” he said through clenched teeth. “I do need something in return.”

 _There it is,_ Sora thought. Now they were getting somewhere. He had figured that the rabbit wasn’t offering his assistance out of the goodness of his heart.

Oswald held up a hand, palm out towards Sora in an attempt to quell his thoughts of doubt. “But I’m not like them. I’m not here to recruit you into a war that you don’t understand in hopes that you never learn. Yes, I am asking for your assistance, but unlike them, I’m not going to string you along. We will find your friends, and that will be the first thing we do, I swear. And, once we’ve located them, you can decide if you want to uphold your end of the bargain, or just go home. Either way is fine with me.”

Sora narrowed his eyes at Oswald, trying to figure out what the rabbit actually wanted. It sounded like a deal too good to be true. Would he really just help Sora and then give him the option to walk away without getting anything in return? He looked back towards the hotel room where Donald and Goofy were sleeping, ignorant of the problems brewing outside. “You’ll take me to my friends?”

Oswald nodded.

“And what’s my end of the bargain?”

Oswald pointed to Sora’s hand. “That Blade is a Key, after all. It can open anything, and I just need you to open a door for me.”

“That’s it?” Sora asked.

“That’s it,” Oswald said. “I’m not asking you to join a war that you don’t understand. I just need you to open a single door with that Key of yours. Do you think you can do that?” His tone seemed a little too patronizing for Sora’s liking.

Again, he turned back to the hotel and clenched his fists. Those two hadn’t given him a reason not to trust them, while Oswald had watched him struggle against the Heartless. “I think I will stay with them,” he decided with a nod.

Oswald’s mouth twitched into what could be confused with a frown, but he didn’t let anything slip. “That’s reasonable,” he said. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The portal behind him reopened and he backed up towards it. “If you ever need anything, Sora,” he tossed a crystal at Sora, who reacted quickly enough to catch it, “just hold that and think, and I’ll be there.”

Sora looked down at the crystal. It was a purple gem with black veins in it. “Thanks,” he said, looking up. To his surprise, he was alone on the balcony. His hand wrapped around the crystal and he felt a power stir within it. His own heart responded to the power inside the gem.

The door to the hotel room opened and Sora flinched, hiding the crystal behind his back as Goofy stepped out onto the balcony. “Mornin’ kid.” Goofy greeted.

Sora smiled, pocketing the crystal. “Morning.”

Goofy smiled at Sora and motioned for him to come inside. “Donald’ll get up here soon. I hope you got some sleep last night.”

He hadn’t but there was no point in worrying them. “I’ll be okay.”

“Alright.” He looked around the balcony like he sensed something had gone wrong there, but he just shrugged. “We’ll be leaving soon.”

There was a pause between them. Sora again felt the gem in his pocket stir and he tried to see if there was any sign that what Oswald had told him was true. He saw nothing but a warm, smiling face.

“You okay, Sora?”

Sora smiled. “I’m fine.”

* * *

“You promised me a Keybearer!” Maleficent snapped as Oswald stepped out of his portal into the dark forest where she was waiting for him.

He walked past her without looking up and he jumped onto a low branch. He hated having to look up at people to have a conversation.

“What do you have to say for yourself, Oswald?”

“Patience,” he said. They had been using the dark forest since they had met there. He figured it was appropriate. The words that had been spoken to him about remaining in the dark played constantly in his head and the wind the whistled through these black trees seemed to whisper them back at him.

Maleficent shook her head. “That’s all you ever have to say, is patience. I want results, Rabbit, not promises.”

Oswald took a deep breath and looked up at the moonless sky. She was right. He had been giving her nothing but promises. “I’ve sown the seeds of doubt in him. He’s too naïve for his own good, but nothing I told him is a lie. He will learn soon enough that no matter where he goes, he’s just a means to an end. At least I told him the truth without any pretense of caring about him.”

She scoffed. “And you think that will make him trust you more?”

“It will make him trust them less,” Oswald said, looking at the woman. He didn’t like having to go through her, but he wouldn’t have been able to get this far on his own. “Regardless, we should uphold our end of the bargain. Have you located his friends?”

“Of course. One of us has to do work here.”

Oswald held back a snide comment about that. She didn’t know how much work he was doing behind the scenes. Now they just had to make sure that Sora wasn’t reunited with his friends until they were ready for it. “In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on our merry little trio and make sure things go the way we need them to.”

Maleficent watched him for a moment. He didn’t like how she studied him. She hadn’t been trusting of him since their first meeting. He supposed that was fair enough. One couldn’t be too careful when dealing with people who possessed the darkest of hearts. “Aren’t you worried that the King’s men will recognize you?”

Oswald jumped from the tree branch with a soft grunt, shaking his head. “No. The King probably doesn’t have any memories of me, and if he does, they are ones that he would rather be forgotten. I doubt he’s told anyone about little old me.”

“You sound confident in that assessment.”

“Because it’s true,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. She could doubt him all she wanted, but at the end of the day, she would need him for her goals as much as he needed her. “But if it pleases you, I will make sure they don’t see me.”

Maleficent looked down at him and he couldn’t help but feel that she was belittling him with just her glare. He turned and walked away from her towards his home. She had found the others and she could deal with them. Sora was his project now. “Contact me once you have his friends,” he called.

“It must be a sad life being a Forgotten,” she said to him.

He froze in mid-step and he balled his fists.

“Did you think I didn’t do research on you, Rabbit? I don’t enter into contracts without knowing who, and what, I’m dealing with.”

Oswald shook his head. This didn’t change anything. Their relationship didn’t change because she knew exactly what he was. He started walking again, further into the dark forest.

He’d rather be Forgotten.


End file.
